Bangladesh wage protests turn violent

Three people have been killed and scores injured in Bangladesh as tens of thousands of garment workers clash with police in protest rallies over wages.

Garment workers demanding the implementation of a new minimum wage law, clashed with police in the southeastern city of Chittagong on Sunday, leaving 250 people hurt, AFP reported. 

"Three people have died, including a rickshaw driver that died on the spot after he was hit by a brick," said Meshbahuddin, Chittagong Police Chief. 

Bangladesh's 4,500 garment factories make clothes for many Western brands. The factories must pay workers at least 43 dollars a month, up 80 percent from the minimum wage set in 2006. 

Unions say that the government wage hikes that were due last month have not been implemented by the manufacturers. 

In the country's capital Dhaka, police fired live bullets and tear gas shells at angry workers who torched two vehicles and blocked a main road. 

The protests come a day after Korean company Youngone, the country's largest exporter, closed all 17 of its factories following demonstrations by workers. 

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'South Korean boat sinks, 22 dead'

At least 22 people have been killed and 20 others rescued after a South Korean fishing boat with 42 crew members sank off the Antarctica, reports say.

According to a Foreign Ministry's statement, 20 of the crew members were rescued by another fishing boat operating nearby. 

"Survival times in the water are about 10 minutes without lifejackets or immersion suits," the ministry said in the statement. 

South Korea's Foreign Ministry and coast guard officials said the 614-ton ship with 42 seamen aboard sank around 4:30 a.m. on Monday South Korean time (1930 GMT) about 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers) south of New Zealand. 

Among the crew were Chinese, Indonesians, Filipinos and one Russian. 

Maritime NZ said the trawler, Number One Insung, went down about 1,000 nautical miles north of the McMurdo Antarctic base with no warning in apparently calm conditions. 

"We had no distress signal, at this stage we don't know what caused the vessel to sink," Maritime NZ spokesman Ross Henderson said. 

The spokesperson added that New Zealand's rescue coordination center was not informed of the accident until 1:00 p.m., about six-and-a-half hours after it occurred. 

Three South Korean and two New Zealand fishing vessels aided in the search and rescue efforts, the Foreign Ministry said, adding that the water temperature in the area was 2 degrees Celsius, or 36 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The Rescue Coordination Center New Zealand said there was no immediate indication for the cause of the sinking. The center also said no distress call had been issued. 

In August, three people died when a South Korean fishing vessel went down 400 miles east of Dunedin, New Zealand. The New Zealand rescue agency saved 45 crew members from the ship, a spokeswoman said at the time. 

In April, just days after a South Korean warship was sunk by a torpedo allegedly fired by North Korea, a South Korean fishing boat sank during the search for survivors. That boat apparently collided with a freighter. 

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In US, winter storm hits several states

A strong snowstorm has whipped across the upper Midwest in the US, forcing cancellations and delays of hundreds of flights in Chicago and closing roads in several states.

The winter storm, which has dumped as much as 61 cm of snow in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin wreaked havoc on air and road travel in several states and, in particular, in Chicago where over 1,600 flights were cancelled at O'Hare and Midway airports, USA Today reported on Sunday. 

More than 900 flights were cancelled at O'Hare International Airport and more than 250 were cancelled at Midway International Airport, said Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman, Karen Pride, adding that several flights have also been delayed. 

Major highways in several states have also been closed due to poor driving conditions and accidents. 

The blizzard has reportedly claimed at least one life while some reports point to several weather-related injuries in two separate incidents. 

The heavy snowfall has also caused the collapse of the roof of a football stadium in Minnesota. 

According to weather services, the winds are expected to gradually let up early Monday, but falling temperatures will result in wind chill values as low as minus-25 degrees through Monday morning. 

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Police snatch another UK protester

British police have arrested another student protester as part of the crackdown on recent protests against an increase in university tuition fees.

Charlie Gilmour, a 21-year-old Cambridge student and the son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and criminal damage, British media reported on Monday. 

Charlie is accused of climbing the Cenotaph and swinging from a Union flag and attempting to start a fire at the entrance of the Supreme Court during the protests against tuition fees' increase, the reports said. 

On Thursday, lawmakers endorsed a controversial plan to triple university tuition fees in Britain. 

The voting was carried out against a backdrop of violent protests outside Parliament building, around Westminster and all across the UK. 

British police have so far arrested 36 people and medical sources said more than 50 were injured during the protests. 

Gilmour, who is studying history, arrived at the protests on Thursday carrying a red and black flag in one hand and a book in verse in the other. He clambered onto the reinforced barrier protecting Parliament and began reciting Byron and Keats to riot police. 

He then climbed the Cenotaph and swung from the Union flag. Later in the day he was in the vicinity of the Royal car when it was attacked. 

Gilmour was adopted by the Pink Floyd star after Polly Samson, his mother, separated from his father, the poet, Heathcote Williams. She married David Gilmour in 1994 and they have homes in London and West Sussex. 

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